Opening Ritual

The experience, celebration, and reflection on ritual is a key step in the catechetical process of RCL's sacrament preparation program. Each chapter in RCL's Eucharist begins with an opening ritual. Each of the opening rituals invites the children to enter into the chapter by praying with primary symbols and ritual actions used by the Church in the celebration of its sacramental rituals.

Features of this section:

• Prayer invites children, catechists, and families to place themselves in the presence of God.
• Photographs visually connect the ritual to life.
• Sharing Together allows children to reflect on the ritual action and its connection to their lives and to the sacramental life of the Church.

Scripture

The proclamation and reflection on Scripture is an essential part of the Church's sacramental celebrations. It is also a key element in RCL's sacrament preparation program. Each chapter of RCL's Eucharist contains a complete Scripture story. The Scripture story flows from the opening ritual and points to the doctrine/liturgy of the lesson.

Through the Scripture stories the children are helped to:

• come to know the word of God,
• recognize that the Lord continues to speak to us today,
• discover the meaning of God's word as it relates to the sacrament, and
• see how God's love, presence, help, and revelation continue to guide us in our daily lives.

Features of this section:

• Scripture story beautifully illustrates the theme of the chapter. The children read or listen to a story from the Scriptures--a complete story, not just a sentence or two.
• Faith Focus prepares the children to enter the Scripture story.
• Reflection reinforces and helps the children to see their life experience in light of the Scripture story.
• Together as a Family invites the family to enter into sacrament preparation with their child by providing suggestions and activities for sharing Scripture and faith.

Doctrine/Liturgy

Since the times of the apostles the faith of the Church has been passed down through the generations of believers, who have gathered to celebrate Christ's sacramental presence with the Church. RCL's Eucharist prepares children for participation in the Eucharist by helping them understand what we believe as Catholics and relates those beliefs to the celebration of the sacrament. The doctrine taught in each chapter of Eucharist is directly related to the opening ritual and to the Scripture story, and points to the "What Difference Does This Make in My Life?" and the "Together as a Family" pages.

Features of this section:

• What We See and Hear introduces or reinforces the children's understanding of the faith concepts, prayers, and practices related to the liturgy.
• Doctrine/Liturgy connects in an age-appropriate way the teachings of the Church with the liturgical rite to help prepare the children to participate consciously, actively, and fully in the celebration of the sacrament.
• Faith Focus prepares the children for learning the content of the lesson.
• Photographs visually depict the sacramental rites.
• Together as a Family invites the family to enter into sacrament preparation with their child by providing suggestions and activities for sharing faith.

What Difference Does This Make in My Life?

Each chapter of RCL's Eucharist child's book features a "What Difference Does This Make in My Life?" page. This page is at the heart of the program because it helps to fine-tune the children's ability to view and make a decision to live all aspects of daily life through eyes of faith.

Features of this section:

• Opening Paragraph summarizes what the children have learned in the chapter.
• Activities reinforce the children's understanding of the faith theme of the chapter and connect it to the children's lives in interesting and engaging ways.
• My Faith Choice invites the children to make a decision to live what they have learned--to put their faith into practice and experience the difference that living their faith makes for their lives and the lives of others.

Together as a Family

RCL's Eucharist program implements the principle that parents are the primary educators of their children. Each chapter of RCL's Eucharist child's book has a "Together as a Family" page, in addition to the "Together as a Family" feature that runs throughout each chapter. This page has four consistent features that provide families the opportunity to remember, share, pray, and get ready for the celebration of Eucharist.

Features of this section:

• Remembering Together invites parents and children to share both what they have learned as well as share their own faith stories.
• Sharing Together provides suggestions for family activities.
• Praying Together offers a simple prayer for the family to pray together.
• Getting Ready Together gives practical ways the family can prepare for first Eucharist together.